Lakuen

"Lakuen" (Japanese: 楽園, Hepburn: Rakuen, "Paradise"), stylised as "LAKuEN", is a song by Japanese singer Ken Hirai. It was released on January 19, 2000 as his eighth single, and became his biggest hit since his debut in 1995.[1]

"Lakuen"
The face of a man looking upwards, against a New York apartment building as a background
Single by Ken Hirai
from the album The Changing Same
ReleasedJanuary 19, 2000 (2000-01-19)
Recorded1999
Genrecontemporary R&B
Length5:34
LabelSony Music Records
Songwriter(s)Makoto Atozi, Masahito Nakano
Ken Hirai singles chronology
"Love Love Love"
(1998)		 "Lakuen"
(2000)		 "Why"
(2000)
Music video
"Lakuen" on YouTube

Background and development

"Lakuen" was Hirai's first release in two years, since the single "Love Love Love" in 1998. Hirai's debut single "Precious Junk" in 1995 charted at number 50 on Oricon's singles charts, but since then he had not charted on Oricon's singles chart.[1][2] The popularity of this song managed to revitalise Hirai's career.[3]

Promotion and release

The song became popular after intense radio play from FM stations across Japan.[4] Hirai's follow-up album The Changing Same, released in June 2000, debuted at number one on Oricon's albums chart, and became certified for over one million copies sold.[4][5]

Hirai performed the song three times on TV Asahi's Music Station: first on March 10, 2000, followed by on the 2000 New Year's special on December 29, and a week before the release of his sixth album Sentimentalovers on November 19, 2004.[6][7][8] Hirai performed the song at the 51st Kōhaku Uta Gassen New Year's TV song contest on December 31, 2000.

Critical reception and covers

CDJournal reviewers described the song as a "mellow soul number" that was "an emotionally moving good quality work". They noted Hirai's strong use of falsetto in the song not present in his previous works. They further praised the lyrics for the strong imagery of "pure love" that they create for the listener.[9][10]

In 2007 on her extended play Sings: Winter, and Luv, Satomi' covered the song, and in 2010 Nami Tamaki covered the song on her single "Omoide ni Naru no?" (2010).[11][12] In 2012, bilingual singer Beni covered the song in English for her album Covers 2. She wrote the new English lyrics in collaboration with lyricist Seiji Motoyama.[13]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangerLength
1."Lakuen"Makoto AtoziMasahito NakanoNakano5:35
2."Affair"Gorō Matsui243Uru5:18
3."What's Goin' On?"Ken Hirai, AnnaHiraiKen Matsubara4:14
4."Lakuen (Birthday Mix)"AtoziNakanoDJ Koutarou.A6:45
Total length:21:52

Chart rankings
Charts (2000) Peak
position
Japan Oricon weekly singles[14] 7

Sales and certifications
Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales[15] 549,000
RIAJ physical certification[16] Platinum (400,000+)
RIAJ digital certification[17] Gold (100,000+)

Release history
Region Date Format Distributing Label Catalogue codes
Japan January 19, 2000 (2000-01-19)[18] CD single Sony Music Records SRCL-4720
Taiwan May 29, 2000 (2000-05-29)[19] CD single Linfair Records Ltd. SRCL4720A
Japan October 1, 2000 (2000-10-01)[20] CD single Defstar Records DFCZ-1014
October 23, 2013 (2013-10-23)[21] Digital download

References
  1. 平井堅、全シングル収録の初ベストアルバムが発売決定！ [Ken Hirai to release his first best-of album containing all his singles]. Sanspo.com (in Japanese). Japan: Sankei Sports. 8 September 2005. Archived from the original on 24 December 2005. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. 平井堅のシングル売り上げランキング [Ken Hirai Single Sales Ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. 2014. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  3. 純国産R&Bの金字塔「JAPANESE SINGER」 (in Japanese). Natalie. May 20, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  4. インタビュー初登場!ダブルミリオンのアルバムを語る! (in Japanese). Oricon. November 22, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  5. "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2000年8月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. September 2000 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan. 491: 8. October 10, 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  6. 主演者ラインップ [Performer line-up]. TV Asahi. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  7. 主演者ラインップ [Performer line-up]. TV Asahi. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  8. 主演者ラインップ [Performer line-up]. TV Asahi. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  9. 平井堅 / 楽園 [Ken Hirai: Lakuen] (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  10. 平井堅 / Ken Hirai 10th Anniversary Complete Single Collection '95-'05“歌バカ” [2CD+DVD] [限定] (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  11. "SINGS ~Winter, and Luv~" (in Japanese). iTunes. 5 December 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  12. 思い出になるの? (in Japanese). Tower Records. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  13. COVERS:2 ［CD+DVD］＜初回限定盤＞ (in Japanese). Tower Records. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  14. 平井堅のシングル売り上げランキング [Ken Hirai Single Sales Ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  15. オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  16. GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2000年5月度 [Gold Albums, and other certified works. May 2000 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan. 488: 8. July 10, 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  17. "有料音楽配信認定" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  18. 楽園 [Lakuen] (in Japanese). Oricon. 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  19. "平井堅- 樂園" [Ken Hirai - Lakuen] (in Chinese). G-Music. 2000. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  20. 楽園 [Lakuen] (in Japanese). Oricon. 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  21. 楽園 [Lakuen] (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
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